The months and days are the travelers of eternity.
The years that come and go are also voyagers.

—Matsuo Bash? (1644-94), from Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Interior), 1689

The 17th-century Zen Buddhist masterwork of linked verse, Narrow Road to the Interior, takes readers on a pilgrimage—both worldly and immaterial. The contemporary artists in this eponymous exhibition also evoke the idea of earthly and spiritual passage artworks that use private experiences as entryways to universal themes. Quiet, patient observation and elemental materials prove central to these artists' practices. More than one hundred exquisite photographs, sculptures, paintings and installations incorporate humble materials such as light, water, wood, paper, ash, stone, ink and mirrors. The subtlety and frankness of the art epitomize the precision and rhythm of haiku while the exhibition's meditative nature reflects the ritual and ceremony that has persisted over centuries at the heart of Japanese culture.